BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by STAR Financial Bank

STAR Financial Bank decreased its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 8.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,759 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 165 shares during the quarter. BlackRock makes up 1.1% of STAR Financial Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. STAR Financial Bank’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $1,812,920,000. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 57.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,514,999 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,853,517,000 after acquiring an additional 1,279,952 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,918,878 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,181,346,000 after buying an additional 749,654 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 24,171.5% during the 1st quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 416,014 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $346,831,000 after acquiring an additional 414,300 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,182,262 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,990,052,000 after purchasing an additional 292,017 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $883.79 on Wednesday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $596.18 and a 12 month high of $903.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.06 and a quick ratio of 5.06. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $852.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $812.86.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $10.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.96 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $4.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.44% and a net margin of 32.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.28 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.84%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $834.42, for a total transaction of $22,529,340.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,407,041.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $843.25, for a total value of $24,833,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 353,718 shares in the company, valued at $298,272,703.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $834.42, for a total value of $22,529,340.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,407,041.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 93,042 shares of company stock valued at $79,387,117 in the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on BLK shares. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $974.00 to $969.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on BlackRock from $912.00 to $937.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Argus increased their price target on BlackRock from $880.00 to $910.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $842.00 to $837.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $883.47.

About BlackRock

BlackRock, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors including corporate, public, union, and industry pension plans, insurance companies, third-party mutual funds, endowments, public institutions, governments, foundations, charities, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, official institutions, and banks.